Charmander Line/RBY
Charmander is available as a starter in Oak's Lab in Pokémon Red and Blue. In Pokémon Yellow, it can be received from a trainer on Route 24. The ever-unfortunate starter of Kanto, doomed to stay in Oak's Lab or be on the rival's team in many runs. The Charmander line has had its share of misfortunes throughout the history of Pokémon, and they are plain glaring in the very first generation: no viable STAB until the late game, good-but-not-great attacking stats that often prevent it from one-shotting opponents, a grand total of four weaknesses when fully evolved (including Ice, which Fire does not resist in this generation) one of which is a dual weakness, and a general difficulty in usage overall... all of these characteristics make most nuzlockers prefer Bulbasaur or Squirtle, and rightfully so. However, Charmander is certainly an interesting pick for people who want an addition to the challenge: it will make even Brock and Misty difficult to fight. Despite its rocky start, in the late game Charizard is much more capable than Charmander was in the early stages of the game. Important Matchups - Yellow = * Gym #2 - Misty (Cerulean City, Water-type): Charmeleon can win against Staryu if it outspeeds and knows Dig, which is an average 3HKO. Starmie, however, outspeeds and 2HKOs it flat. * Rival (S.S. Anne): Charmeleon's Ember 3-4HKOs Spearow and Sandshrew; Sandshrew's critical Slash is about as powerful as Ember, but Charmeleon can outspeed. Rattata is 2HKOed by Dig, which also 3HKOs Eevee, barring possible Growl or Sand-Attack uses. * Gym #3 - Lt. Surge (Vermilion City, Electric-type): Dig 2HKOs Raichu. Raichu's Thunderbolt is a 3HKO, but its Speed is also likely to cause at least one critical hit; the battle will still be risky, though without critical hits involved, Charmeleon will win. * Rival (Pokémon Tower): Fearow's Fury Attack outdamages Charmeleon's best available move, Submission, from three hits onwards, making it dangerous to fight against and not recommended. Sandshrew is 3HKOed easily with Ember, as it still lacks Ground STAB; Eevee can be 3-4HKOed with Dig or 2-3HKOed with Submission, whereas Vulpix and Magnemite are 2HKOed by Dig alone. Although Charmeleon can theoretically defeat Shellder as well, fighting it is not recommended; a combination of Clamp and Supersonic, possibly with Withdraw in the mix, can render its Dig useless and actually kill it off. * Giovanni (Rocket Hideout, Ground-type): Charmeleon can 2-3HKO Onix with Dig, since its Rock Throw is relatively weak, though it will need to be healed if Onix uses Bind instead; Rhyhorn is 2-3HKOed, as well. Charmeleon can also 3HKO Persian with Submission. * Gym #4 - Erika (Celadon City, Grass-type): Bring healing items to this fight; Erika's Weepinbell and Tangela have Wrap and Bind respectively, which will lock Charmeleon for several turns if used. Ember averagely 4HKOs all of Erika's Pokémon, and is more than strong enough against their Grass-type moves or Gloom's Acid. Awakenings are recommended as well as Lemonades, since Weepinbell and Gloom also know Sleep Powder. * Gym #5 - Koga (Fuchsia City, Poison-type): Charizard's Flamethrower OHKOs all three Venonat and 2HKOs Venomoth. * Fighting Dojo (Saffron City, Fighting-type): Charizard's Fly 2HKOs both Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan before they get to do much of anything. * Rival (Silph Co.): Having Charizard fight against Sandslash is not advised, since Sandslash's Slash is more powerful than Charizard's; Charizard can win only if healed at least once. Charizard's Slash 2HKOs Kadabra easily instead, and Dig 2HKOs Ninetales and Magneton. Cloyster must be avoided; it knows Aurora Beam, which is super effective against Charizard in this generation. The Eeveelution can be 2HKOed with Dig if Jolteon or Flareon, but must be avoided if Vaporeon, once again due to Aurora Beam. * Giovanni (Silph Co., Ground-type): Nidorino is 2HKOed by Dig, whereas Rhyhorn is 2-3HKOed and Nidoqueen is 3HKOed; Persian can now be 3HKOed with Slash. * Gym #6 - Sabrina (Saffron City, Psychic-type): Abra and Kadabra are 2HKOed by Slash, which also 2-3HKOs Alakazam. Charizard should be supported by an X Accuracy if Abra uses Flash, since missing against Alakazam more than once will turn the matchup upside down; its Psybeam can score a near-3HKO. * Gym #7 - Blaine (Cinnabar Island, Fire-type): Ninetales is 2HKOed by Dig, though the second Dig will be harder to land if it uses Confuse Ray; Slash may be used to complement damage instead, if Charizard has trouble finishing the Dig execution. Rapidash is an easier 2HKO, short of getting continuously trapped by Fire Spin, but Charizard should be higher levelled and thus outspeed Rapidash. Slash is recommended against Arcanine, as the move will ignore Reflect and still outdamage Arcanine's Take Down. * Gym #8 - Giovanni (Viridian City, Ground-type): Dugtrio is 2HKOed by Slash, but the rest of Giovanni's Pokémon all beat Charizard: Persian outspeeds and outdamages with Slash, Nidoqueen and Nidoking can take two Digs each and respond with the 2-3HKO Thunder, and Rhydon destroys Charizard with Rock Slide. Only a Swords Dance can turn the matchup upside down against Persian and the two Nidos, but Rhydon remains unbeatable. * Rival (Route 22, pre-Elite Four): Charizard can now beat Sandslash with Flamethrower, resulting in an average 2HKO; the move also OHKOs Exeggcute. Magneton is 2HKOed by Dig or Earthquake, as is Ninetales; Kadabra is 2HKOed by Slash instead. Charizard can still win against Flareon with Dig or Earthquake, but not against Jolteon, which now sports Thunder; Vaporeon is more dangerous than before, boasting Hydro Pump, and must be avoided again. * Elite Four Lorelei (Indigo Plateau, Ice-type): Dewgong can be 3HKOed with Slash, Cloyster and Jynx are 2HKOed by Flamethrower. Slowbro and Lapras would beat Charizard by 3HKOing with Surf or 2HKOing with Blizzard, respectively, so they cannot be fought. * Elite Four Bruno (Indigo Plateau, Fighting-type): Both Onix only have Rock Slide for Rock STAB, and must therefore be avoided, or Charizard's life would be in danger. Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan are 2HKOed by Flamethrower or Fly (Fly has a chance to OHKO Hitmonlee), whereas Machamp can be 2HKOed only by Fly. * Elite Four Agatha (Indigo Plateau, Poison-type): Haunter, the two Gengar and Arbok are all 2HKOed by Dig or Earthquake, with an OHKO chance against Haunter; Charizard only needs to be healed from Hypnosis-induced sleep to avoid getting hit by Dream Eater, or switch out if Confuse Ray is used, though it can switch back in afterwards. Golbat is 2-3HKOed by Flamethrower. * Elite Four Lance (Indigo Plateau, Dragon-type): Charizard can Slash the two Dragonair to death, 2-3HKOing them, but Gyarados, Aerodactyl and Dragonite are all too powerful for it, due to their Hydro Pump and Hyper Beam attacks as well as their resistances to Normal (Aerodactyl) and Fire (all three). * Champion Rival (Indigo Plateau): Sandslash's Slash takes three hits to KO; Charizard may use the wiggle room to set up Swords Dance, if it can be healed afterwards. At +4, Charizard's Fly can 2HKO Sandslash, OHKO Alakazam and Exeggutor, and Magneton can also be OHKOed with Dig or Earthquake. Flareon is OHKOed as well, and so would Jolteon be, but Jolteon's Thunder actually has a small OHKO chance against Charizard; Charizard will win if Thunder does not kill it, but letting it stay in until the very end of the battle is still dangerous. In addition, Charizard cannot OHKO Vaporeon even at +6, and its Hydro Pump presents the same issues as Jolteon's Thunder. * Post-Game: Mewtwo laughs at Charizard and its sorry attempts at fighting it. }} Moves Charmander starts off with Scratch and Growl in Red and Blue; in Yellow, when received, it also knows Ember, which it learns at level 9. Ember is its only level-up STAB move for a long while, and should be held onto tightly until then. Charmander learns Leer at level 15, but it will generally not be useful to keep; after evolving, Charmeleon gets Rage at 24, which is a very dangerous move to use in nuzlockes, as it locks the user until it either defeats the opponent or faints, and defeating opponents with Rage is not easy. Next, the line gets Slash at 33, which is quite powerful with its guaranteed critical hit, but its typing is not too useful and it should not be kept if there are better coverage options available. Charizard will try to relearn Slash at 36 as well, and it then gets Flamethrower at 46, arguably the only level-up move it will keep for the long term (besides, possibly, Slash). The last move the line learns naturally is Fire Spin, which comes at level 55, and is ridiculously overpowered in this generation, as it will prevent the opponent from attacking until it is freed, and even then, on the turn the opponent is freed it won't be able to attack; it is the perfect way of wearing down a foe that cannot otherwise be beaten, but the 70% accuracy also means it won't be a foolproof move to use without an X Accuracy. Charizard's only option in the special TMs department is Fire Blast, which is a power upgrade of Flamethrower, but also less accurate; which move to choose amongst these two is up to personal play style. In the physical department, one of the most popular moves is certainly Earthquake, which is sadly unavailable until much later into the game; Dig, however, is equally powerful. Submission offers Fighting coverage as well, but is both inaccurate and carries recoil damage with it; use at own risk. Fly is a good STAB move to have as well, but sadly unavailable in Red and Blue, as Charizard can only learn it in Yellow. Lastly, for any physical or predominantly physical set, Swords Dance is the best power-up option, as Charizard's natural Attack is alright, but not overly powerful. If running Swords Dance, another must have is Hyper Beam, which benefits greatly from not needing the recharge turn in case it KOs the opponent when used. Charizard can also run Reflect to improve its physical bulk, especially considering that screen moves do not expire in this generation. Body Slam is generally less powerful than Slash (as Slash is guaranteed to score a critical hit), but it works better in tandem with Swords Dance, as critical hits ignore all stat modifiers in this generation. It also has a chance to paralyze the opponent, and Slash does not. However, as Body Slam is a one-off TM and one of the best moves in RBY, it is best saved for a powerful Normal-type instead. Recommended moveset: Swords Dance, Flamethrower, Earthquake / Dig, Fly Yellow / Submission / Hyper Beam Recommended Teammates * Ground-types: Charizard's crippling Rock weakness can be covered only by a resistance, and Ground-types are best for this, as they can also deliver super effective STAB damage to Rock users. In addition, they provide a shield for Electric moves, which Charizard also hates. ** Good Pokémon that fit this description include, among others: Sandslash, Nidoqueen, Nidoking, Golem, Marowak, Rhydon * Water-types: Although on a purely defensive level, Water-types provide the best answer to both Water and Ice, the other two of Charizard's weaknesses. For this role, it is recommended to pick a Water-type with better coverage than the standard Surf and Ice Beam; Gyarados, Slowbro and Lapras are good examples. ** Good Pokémon that fit this description include, among others: Golduck, Poliwrath, Tentacruel, Slowbro, Seadra, Starmie, Gyarados, Lapras, Vaporeon, Omastar Other Charmander's stats Charmeleon's stats Charizard's stats * At what point in the game should I be evolved? Unless Charizard is doomed to stay a Charmander until level 38 just to get Flamethrower earlier, there is really no reason to wait on either evolution. Charmander should become a Charmeleon between after Brock and the arrival in Cerulean, and Charmeleon should become a Charizard sometime after Erika is fought, and before Koga and Sabrina. * How good is the Charmander line in a Nuzlocke? Simply put, Kanto hates Charmander. Picking Charmander in Kanto means going for easy region hard mode. It does not get any good moves until Slash, which is only about decent, and Flamethrower comes preposterously late; on top of that, it has more unfavourable matchups than either of the other starters and only really fares well enough with Swords Dance support, which it needs to use without either STAB in Red and Blue because one is special, and the other is inaccessible. Charizard is not a Pokémon that will give players an easy time in this region, though it will certainly be challenging to train one. Charmander's and Charmeleon's type matchups: * Weaknesses: Water, Rock, Ground * Resistances: Fire, Grass, Bug * Immunities: None * Neutralities: Normal, Flying, Poison, Ghost, Psychic, Dragon, Electric, Ice, Fighting Charizard's type matchups: * Weaknesses: Water, Electric, Ice, Rock (x4) * Resistances: Fire, Fighting, Grass (x0.25), Bug (x0.25) * Immunities: Ground * Neutralities: Normal, Flying, Poison, Ghost, Psychic, Dragon Category:Red/Blue/Yellow Category:List of Evolutionary Lines with Completed Analyses